Asian markets climb, Hang Seng leads

The Nikkei average jumped almost 3% on Tuesday, bouncing off a 2-1/2 year closing low marked the previous day on a rush of dividend-related buying and in tandem with rises for other risk assets on hopes that a European debt plan is in the works.

Market players said the Nikkei is unlikely to make further sustained gains this week as dividend-related buying ceases to be a factor. Murky prospects for euro zone officials to contain the European debt crisis and caution ahead of key US employment and Chinese manufacturing data next week will also keep gains in check.

But they add that technical indicators show that downward momentum for Tokyo equities has slowed.

Tuesday was the last day for investors to buy many Japanese stocks and still get dividends on them for the April-September first-half, and dividend-related purchases provided a strong late afternoon push to the market.

"Those who have doubts that stock prices will rise much further have little buying incentive, but most stocks are still paying dividends and that appeals to many investors," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

The Nikkei added 2.8% to 8,610, its first climb in three days, led by gains for major banks on hopes that a plan would take shape and prevent Europe's debt crisis from spreading to the global financial system.

The broader Topix index rose 2.7% to 749.
"Some of today's rally can be said to be due to position adjustment as the end of the month nears, and window-dressing for half-year bookclosing," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares snapped a four-day losing run on Tuesday as the best single-day performance in a year lifted the Hang Seng Index out of technically oversold conditions, but turnover declined for a second straight session.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 4.2% at 18,131. The China Enterprises Index of top Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies outperformed, finishing up 6.4% at 9,294.

The Shanghai Composite Index snapped a three-day decline, ending up 0.91% at 2,415, boosted by financial and energy counters as A-share turnover sank to the lowest in the last five sessions.